Sunflower Crochet Pattern

Summer is a great time to find colorful flowers to create cheerful arrangements for your home. Take advantage of this flowering season by choosing flowers in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, such as the ones listed below:

Teddy Bear Sunflowers – a small version of the original sunflower. It grows to 3 feet in height. Dahlias – a cheery plant of the daisy family that has full blooms that can reach 10 inches in diameter. Scented Geranium Leaves – this plant has sculpted leaves that are available in many scents from ginger to chocolate. Zinnias – available in a variety of colors and sizes and has a hearty bloom. Spray Roses – a miniature version of the rose that comes in lots of colors and scents. Perennial Salvia – a purple sprig that adds a spiky contrast to the full blooms of the other plants.

Decide on the container you want to use for your flower arrangement and fill it with water. A short bowl-like container will result in a fuller arrangement while a tall vase will result in a thinner arrangement. Garden flowers usually have thick and leafy stems which can make the water murky or cloudy. For this reason, it is best to use an opaque container such as a ceramic bowl or vase. To design the bouquet, start by grouping the medium and large flowers (Dahlias, Teddy Bear Sunflowers, and Zinnias) in your hand until you have the desired look. Stand the arrangement next to the container to gauge the proper height. Cut the stems at an angle to help the flowers stay hydrated.

Once you place the medium and large flowers in your container, tuck in the smaller flowers (Perennial Salvia and the Scented Geraniums) around the medium and large flowers. You should now have a beautiful flower arrangement for your home!

Crochet Flower Pattern

Make a pretty flower-shaped basket with easy crocheting instructions and pattern.

Materials: 2 balls of closely-covered white and silver, and 1 ball of pink and silver twine; a crochet needle.

For the bottom: Make a chain of 4 stitches and unite it, work 3 long, 3 chain, and repeat three times more.

2nd round: Work 3 long into the 1st 3 chain, make 3 chain, work 3 long [200] into the next 3 chain, make 3 chain, work 3 long into the same place, make 3 chain, and repeat.

3rd round: 3 long, 3 chain, working twice into the 3 chain of last round.

4th round: 3 long, 3 chain, increasing in every other 3rd chain by working twice into it.

5th round: Increasing in every 3rd chain, repeat.

For the leaves: Make a chain of 32 stitches, then work a row of 1 long stitch and 1 chain stitch with the silver twine.

2nd round: Work 1 long stitch into each chain stitch in 1st row, make 1 chain stitch, repeat. (At the point, make 4 long, with a chain stitch between each), repeat on the other side of the chain, 1 long stitch and 1 chain stitch alternately.

3rd round: With pink: Work over a wire in double crochet 1 stitch into each loop, work 15 more leaves in the same way, join each leaf half way, then sew it to the centre, work a row of double crochet 1 yard in length, and twist it for the handle. This should also be crocheted over wire.

Crochet Rose Pattern

Bathrooms often can stymie a home decorator’s creativity. After all, how much can you do in a room dominated by tile and plumbing fixtures? Plenty, as it turns out!

The first step is consider the overall home style. For example, if the home is done in a cheerful, sunny Mediterranean style with plastered walls and rounded corners, you’d want to consider using round or oval rugs. However, if you have a Contemporary bathroom with its sharp edges and shiny metal, geometric modern rugs would be more appropriate.

Then, too, there’s the function of the bathroom. If the bath is devoted to the family’s children, then it definitely needs to reflect a child’s tastes, possibly with a cartoon character theme or at least some bright primary colors. On the other hand, if it’s the bathroom off the master suite, then it could function as a home spa for relaxation, complete with calming colors, all the way down to blue rugs or green rugs on the floor.

Finally, there’s the homeowner’s personal style. What colors make the bathroom’s users feel best: upbeat yellows and vibrant blues, or pastel or muted neutral shades?

Interior design experts say that there are generally four decorating styles used when choosing accessories for a bathroom: bright, fun, classy or muted.

A classy bathroom could go several ways. For example, a bathroom in a Contemporary home might choose black tile, black fixtures and black granite countertops. To relieve this intense color, black and white geometric shower curtain, along with white towels and wash cloths, soap dish and toothbrush holder, would work best. On the other hand, an equally classy bathroom could be decorated in muted colors, perhaps with a subtle floral pattern to the borders on the towels or on wallpaper. One example would be a combination of beige and rose, with roses as the floral embellishment. It’s possible for those skilled in needle arts to crochet rose-patterned edging for towels or even create unique washcloths.

To create a muted look to a bathroom, soft tones also would be necessary, but with much more modern accessories such as those at a spa. Natural colors that look like stone, highlighted by muted shades of blue or green, could combine well in this scheme. This would lead to choosing a matching array of bath rug, towels, and shower curtain to match, along with simple chrome fixtures for sink, tub, shower and toilet. Other accessories also should reflect either chrome or muted colors.

A bright bathroom requires modern shades and shapes, such as single-color shower curtains in vivid shades, along with window treatments, towels and mats to create a crisp look. Geometric patterns such as those found on modern rugs, also fit in well with this decorating alternative. Think in terms of large, bright blocks of color.

A fun bathroom is one that chooses a theme and runs with it – sometimes to excess, unfortunately. Even though creating a playful bathroom often expresses the homeowners’ favorites, it’s possible to overwhelm even fans with too much. As with all decorating schemes, creating a fun bathroom is decidedly the place to invoke the “less is more” rule. For example, if you choose an ocean or aquatic theme, pick a shower curtain brimming with tropical fish and let that serve as a focal point for the bathroom’s decorating scheme. Adding fish-shaped shower hooks can be cute, but that should be the final touch. No fish-shaped rugs on the floor or coral reef wallpaper. Instead, pick up the bright colors of the fish in paint and accessories, but let your finny friends confine themselves to the shower curtain.

While these are the four main styles of bathroom decorating, they aren’t they only ones. Whatever inspires the decorator can serve as a bathroom decorating theme, provided it observes the essential principles of unity, harmony and balance.

Crochet Butterfly Pattern

A houseplant, usually native to tropical climates, is grown indoors for decorative purposes. Houseplants also provide a natural and cost effective way to clean indoor air. According to Dr. Wolverton’s NASA study, it is suggested that at least one potted plant per 100 square feet of home or office space is needed to be effective air cleaners.

The major factors to consider when growing and caring for a houseplant are water, soil, light, temperature, humidity, fertilizers, and pots. Most plants come with a description tag that will guide you on how to care for that specific plant. Below are some basic guidelines for houseplant care.

Water:

Both under-watering and over-watering, can be harmful to houseplants. Check the soil moisture to determine whether a plant needs to be watered. Typically, a houseplant needs to be watered about once a week. Avoid rigid watering schedules and only water when needed. Be sure to completely saturate the soil when watering. Soil:

Use a good potting soil mixture. Good potting soil mixture provides the houseplant with nutrients, adequate drainage, and proper aeration. Most potting soil mixtures contain a combination of dirt, peat moss, and perlite or vermiculite. A good potting soil mixture can usually be purchased wherever potted and garden plants are sold. Light:

Plants use light to make energy through the process of photosynthesis. Windows are the most common light source for houseplants. Southern facing windows provide the most sun and light exposure. Western and eastern windows have much less sun and light exposure. Artificial light, such as fluorescent lighting, also provides excellent light quality for houseplants. 8-16 hours of quality light is ideal for most houseplants. Temperature:

Most houseplants grow in a tropical climate which ranges from 60-80 degrees. The majority of homes are kept around this temperature; therefore, houseplants can thrive inside the home. Night temperatures should be 10 degrees lower to duplicate nature. Humidity:

Nearly all plants thrive in 80% relative humidity. Generally, most homes are kept around 20%-60% relative humidity. One of the most popular methods to increase relative humidity is to use a pebble tray beneath a houseplant. To make a pebble tray, fill the drainage tray with small pebbles or rocks. Then fill the tray with water as high as the pebbles or rocks are and then set the potted houseplant on the pebble or rock tray. Be sure to keep the pebble or rock tray full of water. Another way to increase relative humidity is to purchase and use an indoor humidifier. Other simple ways to increase humidity are to group plants together and avoid placing them in drafty areas. Fertilizers:

Adding fertilizer to houseplants provides nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium that the plants need to enhance growth. Fertilizers are usually marked with a number such as 20-20-20. These numbers represent the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. A 20-20-20 mixture is good for green foliating plants. A 10-20-10 mixture is ideal for blooming plants. Be sure to carefully read the instructions on the fertilizer container because too much fertilizer can be harmful to plants. Pots:

Proper pot size is an important fact to consider. A pot that is too small may halt a plant’s growth while a pot that is too large may cause root disease because of the excess moisture retained in the soil. Generally a pot can stay in the same pot for about two years. Porous pots (usually clay) provide better aeration because air passes laterally through the sides of the pot. Non-porous pots (glazed or plastic) tend to hold moisture for a longer period of time and can restrict airflow. Be sure all pots have drainage holes. If a pot does not have adequate drainage the plant may end up with root rot. A substitute drainage mechanism can be made for pots without drainage holes by placing clay shards or pebbles in the bottom of the pot before filling it with soil. This will allow the excess water to pool in the bottom of the pot instead of the soil. Ten Easy Houseplants to Grow:

1. Orchids

2. Spider Plant

3. English Ivy

4. Philodendron

5. Fishtail Palm

6. Rubber Plant

7. Calla Lily

8. Christmas Cactus

9. Butterfly Palm

10. Baby’s Tears

Many species of plants are suitable to grow indoors. To learn more about caring for houseplants and finding the right houseplants for your home, visit the Better Homes and Garden website.